Health for a lifetime >>>> Why do the chewing muscles hurt?
Why do the chewing muscles hurt?
The chewing muscles that move the lower jaw while chewing food and talking are practically the most powerful muscles in the human body. When these muscles contract, they are capable of developing strength up to 400 kg, but, as a rule, a person does not have to use such force to chew food. Rather, it matters what chewing pressure a person develops when biting off and chewing food of varying consistency.
Experimental evidence suggests that more pressure is exerted by the chewing muscles for cracking nuts, and less for chewing soft biscuits. In fact, the chewing muscles almost never get tired, and the degree of their overexertion depends not on what they are chewing, but on how many movements they have to perform per minute. In addition, muscle tension is rebuilt in conditions of a change in the height of the bite with the loss of teeth, with functional changes in the structure of the temporomandibular joint. It is these factors that are able to provoke muscle fatigue, and therefore cause pain in the area of the masticatory muscles.
What can provoke pain in the chewing muscles:
- Continuous chewing of gum,
- Changed bite with the loss of antagonists (opposing teeth) among the group of chewing teeth (molars and premolars),
- Unjustified overestimation of the bite when installing dentures,
- Bruxism, forcing to constantly clench the jaws and keep the chewing muscles in almost continuous tension,
- Prolonged wide mouth opening at the dentist's office.
As a rule, the chewing muscles have high compensatory capabilities, and therefore the chewing muscles do not hurt for long, quickly adapting to new load conditions.
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